Total Found: 41,123 (Showing 1-25)

Yes, yet again Enterprise takes a cool concept and some good ideas and turns them completely into nonsensical canon breaking garbage.

The Romulans didn't have this tech in the 24th, much less the 22nd.

And Trip and Reed should be dead after the first hard maneuver, much less the jump to warp. With no inertial dampers, there would simply be no resisting the inertial forces on the human body from the extreme acceleration in various different directions. They would be chunky salsa inside those suits and the show would have to go on without them.

Another solid medical drama but one that didn't resonate with me as much as it seems to have with Jammer or other commenters. I think it's good that Bashir wasn't able to find the cure-all (more realistic) but instead did achieve some progress -- not a perfect solution. My question then becomes, if the only cure is for babies, who will be around to take care of them? The people will still go extinct in all likelihood.

Aside from that grim reality, the episode benefited from some good guest actors like the pregnant woman, the older man doing the euthanizing and the one bald-headed patient. The scene when the bald guy dies was powerful as the others also began dying. Yes, a bit cliche with Bashir trying to resuscitate him but still a powerful scene.

Like Jammer mentions, the shot of Bashir standing on part of the ruins observing the newborn baby and the crowd from afar was also well done.

I felt the episode dragged a bit and I didn't wind up feeling emotionally attached to the dying people -- yes their plight is a terrible one and it generates even more impetus for defeating the Dominion, but I also wonder how Bashir can just decide he needs to help these people without worrying about duties on DS9. We know he is a very dedicated doctor -- "Hippocratic Oath" comes to mind.

I'd rate "The Quickening" 2.5 stars -- didn't think it added much more to Bashir's character although the arrogance/hubris dialogue with Dax was excellent. Some loose ends like how Bashir can spend a few weeks on the planet, what happens to the babies ... it didn't really resonate with me emotionally. Not really an episode to touch on ethics either. Credit deserved for not going beyond the realm of what's believable in terms of the medical part -- kept it grounded with the doctor/patients and desire to help at all costs.

Ira and Hans are DS9's two best writers. Granted they wrote some crap mostly comedies and romance. But when they did a Dominion War story they hit it out of the park with clever plotting, welcomed details, smart villains with smart behavior, and did daring unpredictable things

This episode, for the First 50 minutes, was another worthy script of theirs

The way the episode starts out with the battle with exciting ebbs and flows creating a riveting rhythm. The tactics sounded plausible. Like in "Call to Arms" the action was easy to follow. The epic scale of all those ships in a massive battle was awe-inspiring sight to behold

The action back on the station was just as riveting. Nana Visitor shined. Kira has all this on her shoulders and we see her never stopping. She goes to the Bajoran government then with Quark she tries to reach Odo then to Weyoun then to Ziyal to try to save Rom who put his neck out and she feels responsible. Then she still has to worry about the minefield and not willing to put anyone else in jeopardy volunteers to plant the bomb herself. She looks so worn down yet she carries on. And if that wasn't enough she has to put up with Damar's pettiness.

The Dukat/Weyoun scene with them discussing post war plans and the comment about A prize as large as the Federation needing massive troops and if There was a resistance it would begin on Earth... Was all fascinating to me

quark and ziyal freeing the prisoners was a stand up and cheer moment followed by his paralysis was all good
Rom deactivating the weapons a second too late was great!

But there were some things I didn't much like
It would have been more realistic had the defiant not been the only Federation ship to break through the lines. I didn't like that

Also They had me up until the cop out of the Prophets making the Dominion fleet vanish. That's like having Q stop the Borg in the best of both worlds by making the cube go poof! Heck even ENTERPRISE didn't have Daniels save a Earth from the Xindi. I was expecting more from these writers. More shocking and compelling developments like they had done before. I don't care or buy into the idea there was an unspoken edict that you couldn't have the Federation lose to some degree and have a slight if temporary setback

Finally the much death of Ziyal did nothing for me. Ziyal wasn't a very interesting character and her death was too safe so that the show could say it killed off somebody without it being someone in the main cast

I think you got things a little mixed up there. There weren't homegrown terrorists in this episode, but *foreign terrorists* (the shapeshifters). The other allegory is a military authority using wartime authority to seize too much power (eg. Truman, McCarthy, the NSA).

I'd add a caveat that while the episode is surely a commentary on real life and losing freedoms for security, I don't think we should take it totally literally and infer from it that it's saying that we, in the here and now, should tolerate zero loss of freedom to increase security. I think the episode should be viewed in context of the Founders specifically, which is a different scenario from what we face today. The episode is about the Federation, not about us, even though there is an allegory there for us.

I guess if we want to trace that allegory it *could* be suggesting that homegrown terrorists can look just like you and me and you never know who's a mad bomber just waiting to strike. If taken in that way then the episode is surely correct, that there's basically no way to prevent lone acts of terrorism of this sort. The FBI certainly has a track record of basically have zero capability of stopping such things even when they have a head's up, which often they don't. That said I'd be just as content to view this as being an in-universe message rather than a declarative black-and-white statement about modern times. If it was the latter I would tend to agree with you and DPLB that this would be a very narrow message.

The A story was so so. I really didn't think Sisko becoming an adjutant to Admiral Ross and Dax taking the Defiant on a mission offscreen was all that interesting in fact, it seemed like writers frittering away precious narrative real estate that could have been used to do something more compelling--given they were only working with six hours to tell the Occupation arc. Same thing with Sons and Daughters wasting their Klingon story on Worf and Alexander's family issues. Plus Terry Farell wasn't the strongest actor on the show and her performance doing the depleted phaser ritual didn't do much for me

The more interesting part of the episode takes place on the station where The resistance is trying to sew chaos and Weyoin returns to the storyline and Dukat gets more interesting material than in the previous episode

Things kicked into high gear when it was revealed that Damar was ready to bring doen the minefield. It restored urgency to the arc with this looming deadline

I also enjoyed the Kira/Rom pairing as they worked together to disable the graviton emitter-/I think it was funny Rom eating fruit from his fruit basket that was hiding all his tools. The sequence with Rom waiting patiently in the conduit til 0800, Kira arriving at security realizing Odo isn't there, going to tap her commbadge to warm Rom but interrupted by Damar then rushing to a spot on the promenade to contact Odo who is merging with the Founder blissfully unaware of her message then cutting back to Kira contacting Rom to alert him then cutting to him having already opened the hatch with alarms blaring was absoluteky exciting thrilling and tension-filled!

Something else the episode wisely did was bring the Founder into the mix. It made sense that she would be overseeing things in the Alpha Quadrant and get trapped here when minefield went up. Her interactions with Odo were very interesting In fact, I think part of why I enjoy seasons 6-7 so much was because at this time the series was focusing more on these more interesting recurring characters like the Founder, Weyoin, Dukat, Damar, Winn and Garak. Dax, Obrien, Bashir and Quark were not really ever that interesting to me

I also enjoyed further insight into the Founders. I always liked learning about the Dominion and little fascinating details about them--next season along these lines we got a very interesting backstory on the Vorta that was also quite fascinating

And the final scene with Odo so completely detached was quite unsettling. At the time I thought the writers were setting up the idea of Odo joining the Founders and returning with them to Cardassia

This episode spent so much time on the great buildup that it left no time for the ending, which turned out to have an underwhelming fight scene but ultimately nothing noteworthy as a concluding stance. So the next time Jem'Hadar meet Sisko they'll be enemies. Nothing new here.

The best part of the episode was seeing the clash of cultures between Jem'Hadar and the DS9 gang. The Jem'Hadar are pure soldiers and it makes sense that now and then there seem to be stories where a renegade gang breaks away. After all the life of no sleep, no food, no women kind of sucks.

It was about time Weyoun got killed by the Jem'Hadar -- he had a particularly annoying character and it seemed highly improbably that the Jem'Hadar would take orders from him. I liked Odo's reaction to him.

I did like the gateway bit and it being a plot device to get the 2 parties to work together. That was an interesting TNG episode when it was introduced, so good to see something following that up.

This episode should get 3 stars but for the ending which was weak with the fight scene that, of course, Sisko & co. manage to succeed. Kind of like in "The Sword of Kahless" where Worf, Kor, Dax are outnumbered but manage to win the fight, the fight really should be won by the bad guys. How do they tell which Jem'Hadar are on their side and which ones aren't?

I'd give "To the Death" 2.5 stars also because I find it highly unlikely that the Jem'Hadar should be able to team up with the DS9 crew -- so it seemed like the writers are trying to force confrontational situations for the dynamics and some character moments for the Jem'Hadar, which don't work given how they're supposed to be mindless warriors.

"For the Cause" just left me with a "meh" feeling -- the buildup was really slow to the payoff of Eddington being Maquis and stealing the replicators and his chastising of Ben Sisko for representing the Federation as being worse than the Borg. I did think he was making some sense with the accusation but it was really (as Jammer said) out of left field with him going off and supporting the Maquis. It was a shock but then again, hard to care much given he's a bit part character.

But it is a decent story with Eddington's deception and working in cahoots with Yates, getting Sisko to leave the station on the Defiant so that he could steal the replicators. Sisko was totally fooled and it was neat to see how this played out. Sisko has had been a number of episodes where he leaves the station and somebody else is in charge, you'd think he wouldn't get schooled so badly.

Again, I am not a fan of Brooks' acting. He's just too rigid. There are plenty of chances for him in this episode to show a range of emotions but it all comes across ineffectively.

As for the B-plot with Garak and the Cardassian/Bajoran chick -- somewhat forgettable. It's not supposed to be a romance from either one of them at the start but then it sort of goes down that road and ultimately maybe they're just supposed to be friends?

2.5 stars for this episode -- maybe eliminate the Garak B-plot and focus more on Eddington's character and why the Maquis terrorism is compelling to join. There is a good story here but it gets convoluted. It should be more powerful with Yates and Eddington as traitors but both are very minor characters and Sisko's emotions as he realizes his woman is a traitor isn't well acted.

"They will work on it, continue to study the results from testing Odo and continue to live their lives in a way that doesn't let the terrorists win. I thought all this was obvious and didn't need to be spelled out."

That's a good interpretation that you added to the story, but it's anything but obvious. The final scene where Odo protests that nothing was really done to prevent his people from hurting Starfleet was only answered by Sisko saying like "well they need to hit us first, because we won't do their work for them." That sounds a little too laid back coming from a naval officer.

I think Peter's right in the sense that the episode is black-and-white about national security. "No restriction of freedom is tolerable, even for security" was the message of the show. A surprisingly one-sided way to end a DS9 episode, at least.

I agree with your characterization, but the only thing I'd add to it is that the episode gives me the feeling that the optimism of "we're looking for solutions" carries with it the implication that "and that's because we don't have any real solutions at present." So there may well be a strange mix of both optimism and pessimism being expressed at the same time; we hope we can eventually stop them, but right now we can't so we're working on it.

First, I took it to mean they a) are working on countermeasures (they study Odo a lot) and b) that they MIGHT be able to prevent further attacks, but they shouldn't.

Sisko is like the guy that decides we should all take our shoes off in the airport and his crotchety old Dad disagrees. Then when his Dad gets the piss scared out of him and complies readily with having a little less freedom Sisko realizes how disturbingly easy it is to get people to trade freedom for security. That one scene, for me, where Sisko feels unsettled by his father's compliance tells me what the episode is actually about.

"The episode never addresses how Starfleet will try to prevent that from happening again."

They will work on it, continue to study the results from testing Odo and continue to live their lives in a way that doesn't let the terrorists win. I thought all this was obvious and didn't need to be spelled out.

One could argue if it is satisfying or not, but I believe it is the intent.

"There's always a middle ground, and a one-liner at the end like "the Federation has created a new task force to investigate the Dominion bombings using the data we found on our trip" could've lent a little more credibility to what is otherwise a good episode."

Why do you assume there's always a middle ground? That's an assumption based on current-day technology and methods. The Changelings are something new. I feel that this episode is specifically saying that Starfleet security actually may not be up to dealing with this kind of threat. We see in later episodes that they really aren't up to it at all with what happens in "By Inferno's Light." I agree with you that the wrap-up at the end could have used a line like you describe, but overall it seems to be the thesis (however controversial) that there isn't actually a middle ground in this case. You can disagree with the writers on that, I guess, but that seems to be their intent.

DPLB,

"The Changelings did set off a bomb, didn't they? The episode never addresses how Starfleet will try to prevent that from happening again.
--------

Precisely. But I think we have another trekkie fanboy unable to accept the writing here has issues."

It would be easier to reply to you if it seemed you like were being responsive to my actual comments rather than just repeating yourself. The best I can tell you is that I think the episode indirectly says that they simply *can't* prevent it from happening again. I don't know if that conclusion is correct or not - but really evaluating that is senseless because the writers have invented the scenario and the problem, so if they say it's not solvable by Federation security without devolving to fascism then that's sort of just a fact given to us. Maybe if you wrote your own show you could assert different sorts of facts, but arguing with the writers on this point is sort of like disputing warp theory. Sure, you could do that, but it's a premise we're being told so there's really not much to argue with in context of the show.

"the idea that 'we refuse to lose any freedom to increase security' is a strawman reading of the episode...Sisko chooses to side with freedom over fascism."

Since we're mentioning strawmen, it's important to note that "fascism" is the strawman the episode itself it presenting. There's always a middle ground, and a one-liner at the end like "the Federation has created a new task force to investigate the Dominion bombings using the data we found on our trip" could've lent a little more credibility to what is otherwise a good episode.

The actual threat isn't address at length, no, because it would devolve into an hour of strategic countermeasures, and if you ask me it would end up like a session of D&D it comes down to number crunching and who wins the security fight. I'd rather watch an episode of role-playing than dice-rolling, if you catch my drift, so I'm happy that they didn't turn it into a technical exercise in Starfleet Security 101.

And I do believe the threat was taken seriously in the episode; so seriously, in fact, that we're basically told what the writers believe about what the real options are. Basically it's not possible to stop the threat by simply increasing security. Arguably it's not possible at all. I personally can barely think of a way Starfleet could tighten up Earth security enough to "stop" Changeling attacks. Maybe lower the odds, but that's it.

But the idea that "we refuse to lose any freedom to increase security" is a strawman reading of the episode. What it actually says - not directly through words but through the plot - is that there are only two options here: Leyton and Sisko; total fascism and just hoping for the best. There is no middle ground that will achieve anything to stop Changelings that are skilled. Increasing security by 20%, or adding a few measures like blood screenings - useless. They achieve *nothing*. It's not a middle ground, it's the same as doing literally nothing. The only action that could even potentially nail the place down would be to turn the Earth in a totalitarian police state where every possible avenue of movement is tracked, locked down, and secured. I personally think the episode did a good job of *showing us* (rather than telling us) that nothing short of that kind of dictatorship would do anything to speak of. Leyton understood this and decided that security was more important. Maybe some people would sympathize with him if they saw it that way; I certainly understand his position even though I don't agree with it. So that's what it boils down to, and Sisko chooses to side with freedom over fascism, and it's really as simple as that. It may potentially be the losing strategy, but that's Federation values for you. The only thing the series failed to do as a followup to this was to give us reports in later episodes of Changeling terrorism on Earth as a result of this decision, much as later happens on Cardassia in S7. But they obviously didn't want to bog the show down with that and wanted to focus on the greater war, and on station life and politics. You can't do everything.

It's that the actual threat of Changelings wasn't addressed in the episode even though the threat was real. This isn't Scooby-Doo where they pull the mask off a Changeling's head and it's really Admiral Leyton scaring everyone the whole time.

The Changelings did set off a bomb, didn't they? The episode never addresses how Starfleet will try to prevent that from happening again. According to the writers, it's not worth losing any personal freedom for security, even if it puts millions of lives at risk.

After the way to test for life was 'bring it into perceived mortal peril' I hoped that the the fountain failure turned out to be set up by the exocomps as a testing device to find out if humans are alive. And then for the crew to 'fail' that test in exactly the way the exocomp failed Data's.

Thing about the Defiant and the supposed plothole with the jump on technology.....Defiant may or may not have been able to take on a fleet of nx's, but that's not really the point. Archer continuously refused suggestions of taking it to Starfleet and letting them try to reverse engineering it. As someone noted above, why would Archer/Sato want their potential rivals to have one? Also, doing that means keeping everybody else's eyes off the Defiant's schematics, so they know your ship is from 100 yrs in the future, but that's all. Enough into the future to make people's imaginations run wild, therefore, they wouldn't even need to take it into battle....just threatening their enemies with some outrageously powerful, but nonexistent weapons would be enough to rule through fear. For a little while, anyway. Until Mayweather or somebody comes to the realization that she's lying, at which point it's probably game over for everyone on the ship. Either that or the dumbfounded chief engineer would accidently set off a warp core breach. There is a novel, the rise and fall of empress Sato. Haven't read it but I bet it's interesting. I'm gonna go look it up on wiki and see how close I am lol

Ugh. Hated this episode. Note yet more gung ho stupidity from Janeway creates this situation in the first place. Yes we are going to transport an alien creature we know absolutely nothing about and can't even communicate with on board just cause I, Janeway, have a 'feeling' it needs our help. And people complain about Archer....!

As for the moral delimma you don't change the past by deleting knowlege and information. Besides which the information gained from the evil Cardassian still exists everywhere else apart from on Voyager so what was the point in deleting it from the ship's data?